Jacinta's latest rave

I had a request this month to write about simple home remedies so I asked the team of naturopaths at Mullum Herbals for their favourites and added them to mine for this list:

Herbs –can be used as teas or in foods fresh from your garden or dried from us, or other organic herb suppliers. Can also be used as liquid tinctures, glycetracts (which are sweeter so can be easier for the kids to take), capsules or tablets.

Triphala (Three ayurvedic fruits so not in your garden but is so amazing I had to include it) - heals all sorts of digestive problems and helps in absorbing. Best taken before meals and/or supplements, helps the liver so great after a big night out, high in vitamin C, great anti-oxidant, helps us absorb iron and B vitamins from our food

Ive started writing small articles in our local Northern Rivers magazine. This is an informative and connecting community mag and I love being able to share some health tips here.Check out this link for my latest article on health and wellbeing in this Spring season.

Ayurvedic Medicine advises us all to regularly cleanse our body and mind of toxins. This is a primary way of gaining and maintaining good health. In Ayurveda we understand the inseperable link between body, mind and spirit and traditionally this age old system of health was used to restore balance even before disease manifested physically. Therefore it is advisable to cleanse at least once a year for preventative health care, and more often if treating imbalances which have already caused or manifested as diseases.The best time to cleanse is at the change of seasons as at this time we shed toxins more easily.

A key element in Ayurvedic Medicine is the concept of Ama. Ama are the toxins which accumulate when we lose contact with nature's rhythms. They may arise from eating unsuitable foods, like over processed or chemical laden foods as well as consumption of alcohol, tobacco, excessive meat, coffee or white sugar. Toxins can also enter the body via the skin when we expose ourselves to to the chemicals in some skin care products, cleaning products, and hair dyes. Additionally these days ama comes from over use of screens like computers and from excessive mobile phone use.For many of us we are exposed to toxins on a daily basis - thus the importance of cleansing.Toxins can also result from not digesting our food properly. If our digestive fire (or agni) is not functioning well, we are not able to absorb the nutrients and minerals so end up becoming depleted and under- nourished. The power of digestion is one of the most important determinants of good health and longevity.Cleansing removes the ama which is undermining good digestive function, and vastly improves it.The toxic effects of negative life experiences, stress, trauma, negative thoughts and addictions are also a form of ama. When the body-mind is chronically bathed in the biochemistry of anger, hate, envy, resentment, fear etc we experience the cellular dysfunction which accompanies such mental or emotional ama.My teaching companion Leanne and I regularly offer Ayurvedic Cleanses.The next one is to be held at the Byron Yoga centre in November 6th to 8th 2015.Over the weekend we guide you to begin your cleanse, and then if you wish to continue for a few more days at home you are empowered to do so...

Mother Maya coming to AustraliaI am part of the team hosting Mother Maya here ….. I read her (Maya Tiwari) book “A Path of Practise” many years ago and it deeply inspired me - so Im excited to have this amazing Ayurvedic woman teacher coming here… Will post dates and more details soonI Love AyurvedaI came away from sharing Ayurveda, in the recent ‘Ayurvedic Head Massage Workshop,’ with an even deeper appreciation of how relevant and simple, and yet profound, this science really is. It was inspiring to hear feedback from the participants, and seeing the energetic change in people, after just one day of being immersed in Ayurveda, touched my heart.Somehow it feels like the further I delve into Ayurveda, and the more places in my life where I use the principles with myself and my patients, the more I see its simplicity and practical common sense nature, despite its vast complexity. It’s as if, however we are introduced to the principles of Ayurveda; whether it be a workshop like this one, an Ayurvedic training for yoga teachers or a simple consultation, there are easy ways to bring the benefits into our lives with practical steps. These, often quickly, begin to re-balance our mind and bodies, bringing more harmony. It’s also empowering in that it doesn’t matter whether you have a lot of money or not, you can still bring more balance, and relieve symptoms you may have, by introducing lifestyle changes alone.I love how, from the simple things like which spices to use in our food to the more complex things like which direction to massage a marma point, Ayurveda is like a journey. Wherever we are right now we start on the journey, and as we see and enjoy the benefits, we become further inspired to continue.Shirobhyanga Ayurvedic Head Massage WorkshopSaturday 28th June 2008 9.30am to 4.30pmLearn and receive the powerful healing technique of traditional Ayurvedic Head Massage in a beautiful setting near Mullumbimby NSWAyurveda recognizes the unique blend of the elements within each of us and thus helps us in bringing more balance. In this workshop you will be shown the basics of Ayurveda and how to incorporate them into your life. The head has many marma’s, or vital energy centres, and is a map or energetic reflection of the entire body. Thus Ayurvedic Head Massage (or Shirobhyanga) promotes rejuvenation to the whole being. It helps relieve insomnia, headaches and stress related disorders while boosting the immune system. This massage blissfully relaxes and balances mind body and spirit.$175 (including lunch). For concessions – talk to me!* Ayurvedic lunch provided * Detailed Handouts providedBookings : Ring me on 02 66843165 You can download a pdf of the poster below. Feel free to print it out and give it to anyone who may be interested.Head Massage PosterI also ran this workshop and an Introduction to Ayurveda in Adelaide on Monday 19th May at the Australasian Massage Therapists annual conference.

Wise Woman’s Way A healing path based on Ayurveda, Naturopathy and Alchemical Nature Wisdom with Jacinta McEwen02 66843002 / 66849422Workshops Offered 1. Basics of Ayurveda and how to use this understanding in your life 2 Identifying your Constitution and Current State and bringing balance 3 Daily Regimes 4 Ayurvedic Head Massage 5 Ayurvedic Hand and Foot Massage 6 Self Oiling 7 Ayurvedic Yoga – theory and individualised practise 8 Simple Ayurvedic Cooking 9 Herbs – the basics 10. Herbs – the next step 11. Essential oils for health and healing 12. Natural First Aid for you and your family 13. Meditation – theory and practise 14 Deep Relaxation 15 Chakra Balancing – theory and practise (for self) 16 Science of Breath – theory and practise 17 Traditional Chakra Balancing – Chakra Sparsh 18 Health and healing for the whole family 19 Health and healing for over 40’s 20 Menopause – the graceful way 21 Fertility and Conception Naturally 22 Natural pregnancy and birth support through Ayurveda 23 Lymphatic Drainage 24 Foot Reflexology 26 Basic massage and Marma’s 27 Massage – the next step 28 Ayurvedic massageOr if you have a particular area of interest please ask and Jacinta may be able to design a workshop just for you and your friends….I have been enjoying teaching more lately…… If you want me to come and teach in your area then gather some friends together, decide which workshops you are interested in and then contact me and we can plan a programme just for you….

I am delighted to be offering some women’s work again.The Rose Tent is a saturday afternoon event for women only and will be held on 21st June near Mullumbimby,.The focus of the Rose Tent is to connect with, nourish and celebrate the unique blessing of our feminine nature. We may do a range of things depending on the feeling of the moment and the group of women that gather. We focus more on being in the body than on talking although there will often be an opportunity to share if something needs to be spoken. We may use dance, sound, breath work and gentle touch. Often we will have a short meditation or guided visualisation, maybe some chanting and some paired and group work. You are never required to do something that does not feel right to you.The four of us that are offering the tent have journeyed together in our own women’s circle for 8 years. We cherish the nourishment and support that we gain from our group and would now like to share some of the fruits of our time together with a wider community of women.

My partner and I recently returned to Australia after receiving Panchakarma treatment in India, so I will share some of my experience there. Panchakarma is the ultimate in Ayurvedic rejuvenation and healing. Called the five actions (Panch = 5, karma = action), it eliminates ama (toxins) from the system and returns the elements or dosha’s to their proper home. These processes are cleansing to the body, mind and emotions. The first part is referred to as “the gathering of ama” where the thick, sticky ama becomes increasingly liquefied and is able to be moved from places where it is stuck. The middle part is the more intense cleanse section, where the ama is expelled from the body. Then the last part is the more rejuvenating time, where deep nourishment is given to help maintain ongoing balance and an ama free state of health.I’ve always wanted to receive Panchakarma so I was quite excited to finally be able to go to India and do it, whereas my hubby was a little unsure about it initially. He was willing to give it a go though as he has a chronic back condition which gives him quite a lot of pain. So off we went.As soon as we arrived we were encouraged to deeply relax, and everything was taken care of. Simple, but yummy, sattwic(pure) food was served. We had a basic but comfortable and clean cottage, where we could sit on the verandah and gaze at the paddy fields and forest. All cleaning etc was also done for us by friendly Indian women. After an initial thorough consultation our specific Panchakarma routine was established.For both of us the whole time, everyday we received an Ayurvedic massage. For the gathering part, after the massage, we then received Shirodhara and then whole-body-dhara (which meant warm medicated oil being poured over our entire bodies, and we both absolutely loved this). During this time old pains, which for me was the sciatica I suffered a few years ago, resurfaced as they were moving. Practically this meant for me I had a day of pain. For my partner it meant four or five days of intense pain, which was of course challenging, and eventually they gave him herbal pain relief support to get through it. They say that it’s a bit like peeling an onion, and we are going backwards through and eliminating the residues of traumas, diseases, bad habits (alcohol, cigarettes etc), and the like. We also found it a little challenging to be doing absolutely nothing. I was at least allowed to have little walks whereas my partner spent most of the time lying flat. The daily Shirodaras were very nourishing for me. It was also good to experience how deep they went, and to be on the receiving side for a change.The cleansing part of course always depends on ones condition, age, current state, etc. For both of us the treatment was massage then steam (with our head out of the box so we didn’t get all hot-headed) and then the medicated enema. It was this part that my partner especially had worried about before coming, but as it turned out for both of us it was not that challenging and we felt amazing afterwards. After the treatment we would come back to our cottage and ly down and rest. For me this part really seemed to open up my intuition and let go of old stuff, not just physical but mental and emotional as well. Our meals while cleansing was Kunji, which is a sort of wild rice gruel. I came to love this, luckily!!Then the last main part, which focused on nourishing and rejuvenating, began. For this the treatment consisted of warm massage, shirodharas and then medicated rice poultice treatment. It sounds simple but, again, was quite profound and very very nourishing for mind, body and spirit. At the completion of the Panchakarma you are supposed to rest at least for a few days.We both also loved being able to see our medicines grow in the herb garden and being made welcome to watch the medicines being made in the herb kitchen.My partner stayed longer than me. After the treatment I traveled to Arunachala, the sacred mountain of Shiva and Ramana Maharshi. I participated in a meditation retreat, which was again very nourishing and easy after the Panchakarma.Overall it was a powerful and life changing treatment for both of us. We are still feeling the difference on many levels. My partner is returning for more treatment actually, as to really change his chronic condition he needs longer… The initial treatment inspired and helped him so much that he is happy to be going back alone this time… Om Shanti Jacinta